


RWBY: Patches of Summer

by Crowlerj



Category: RWBY
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Friendship, Love, Poor Weiss, Romance, Sad, Spirits, Whiterose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:02:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23358967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crowlerj/pseuds/Crowlerj
Summary: This is a one-shot set in RWBY: The Alter Verse, a re-imagining of RWBY that I'm in the progress of writing. This was created for one reason. There is a chance that, with dwindling traction and interest, I may never complete RWBY: Alter Verse, so I wanted to plant an emotional WhiteRose piece - just in case I never get to it. The events that happen in this fiction may or may not actually occur in RWBY: AV, but they will be in the same spirit.
Relationships: Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	RWBY: Patches of Summer

**Author's Note:**

> I'm aware that some people might find this confusing, but this was really done for my own sake. Try to understand that this takes place sometime before the Vytal Tournament, and that the time skip of events is due to the fact that RWBY: AV has yet to reach its full potential.

It was the week before the Vytal Festival, during a warm night where the bats hovered overhead for the Summer Season. Team RWBY attended a field trip to Signal Academy, one that was rewarded to students at random during a raffle. They had only just arrived by boat, landing on the wavy shores in the midst of night. Blake, Yang, Weiss, and Ruby strolled along the walkway of Signal's grey - and somewhat somber- architecture. Ozpin led them, his hands crossed behind him, his back perfectly postured for a professional look. Blake and Weiss examined the area, attaining what little knowledge they could from the terrain since they had never set foot on Patch Island in their lives.

"It's so dreary here." Weiss complained. "And the bats! Yuck."

"Blake caressed her hair with her claws and commented, 'It's actually pretty peaceful here, I'd say."

Yang joined, a sneer on her face, "Yeah, say that when you've fought battles here. Then, all you can see is the blood on the ground. Look at that tower."

She pointed up at Signal Tower, its structure contained sharp corners, ominous in nature. At the top was a large beacon of light made from Red Dust, serving both as a lighthouse and as a weapon.

"That thing used to scare me as a kid." Yang added. "When the lights would shine, you'd never know for sure if you'd see tomorrow."

Ruby looked up at the tower, then to Ozpin, who continued toward Signal, "Headmaster, are you sure we won that raffle? I didn't even enter it!"

Ozpin stopped in front them, and they stood and waited as he remained silent for just a moment, "Really, little Summer, you have your Uncle to blame." he turned and faced them, a stern expression on his face. "I haven't been completely honest with you, young ladies. I'll tell you the truth. As you know, the Vytal Festival is at risk. We have reason to suspect that there is indeed a terrorist attack planned for the event. You are correct to doubt, for this isn't a field trip at all, and there was no raffle. It was Qrow's request to send you here, and since it is against Academy Policy to separate the team's leader from their teammates during crucial times, your friends needed to tag along."

"Uncle did this?" Ruby raised a brow.

Blake's left ear tilted down as she smirked, "Great, we're just pawns in your family reunion." she walked away from the group, heading towards the garden reserve on the west side of campus. "I'm going hunting. I'll come find you losers tomorrow." her tail straightened for a moment, before she leaped over a group of trees and faded from sight.

"Good riddance!" Yang scowled, turning her attention back to Ozpin. "I don't get it? Why did Uncle want us here? Does he have something to tell us?"

Ozpin adjusted his glasses, "That is something even I don't know, Ms. Yang. However, you've been granted a lodge on the east side of campus in the Freshman Hall. Your room is 145. The Key will be waiting for you at the admissions desk. In the meantime, the strict curfew for Signal's students will not apply to you, so feel free to explore the empty campus as you wish. You've been granted special permission to access most rooms, but don't get carried away. Until then, Qrow has requested that we meet alone. He will attend to you tomorrow, once we are finished discussing matters of state."

"Does that mean you're leaving us here?"

"Yes, little Summer. You are the leader of RWBY, so feel free to use this time to train your teammates, or perhaps enjoy some time to yourselves. It is up to you how you spend your valuable time on this field trip, but bare in mind that will be giving a bonus to your grades depending on your actions here tonight. We'll get down to business in the morning. Take care, Hopes of Beacon. We'll meet in this exact spot tomorrow."

Ozpin turned away, heading for the distant entrance to Signal Academy, its dark walls appearing like a door to the underworld.

"Hey, wait!" Weiss yelled, Ozpin continuing onward. "How will we now if we got the bonus? What am I supposed to do here?"

Yang walked up to Ruby, holding a bag of goods she had packed from their dorm at Beacon over her shoulder, "I don't like this. He's definitely hiding something."

"C'mon sis!" said Ruby, blinking a few times with a frown. "He probably knows your going to sneak around by now. Can't we just hang out together 'til tomorrow? Our grades are fine. We can go play Hide and Seek at the Living Grove like we used to!'

Yang smiled, thrusting her hip to the side, "More like Search and Destroy, troublemaker! But, we've got a job to do. There's a big terrorist attack about to happen, and I know Cinder is involved somehow. Maybe I can find some clues. There's got to be some reason Uncle wanted us out here."

"...Yang..." Ruby worried.

"Hey, you're the leader, sis. If you have any objections, then I can't argue."

Ruby looked down for a moment to think, soon looking back with pensive eyes, "If you find anything, it'll stay between us."

Yang patted her shoulder, then stepped aside, making her way towards Signal, "I knew you'd make the right call." She clenched her left fist, cracking the knuckles. "I'll drop my stuff at the Lodge. If you see tough mom walking around, tell her to screw off! Catch you later!"

"Good Luck!" Ruby waved her off, rising up on the tips of her toes with a grin.

Then, she turned to Weiss.

The Ice Queen learned forward with a look of disgust, the backs of her hands propped against her waist. "Now I'm stuck in this swamp because of you." she shook her head, her eyes rolling. "So what now, leader? What wonderful duties have you got in store for me?"

Ruby blushed, her eyes looking away occasionally out of embarrassment.

Weiss leaned forward a bit more, gesturing with her open palms, "Are you just going to stand there and look like an idiot? Say something!"

Ruby scratched her bottom lip, her shoulders pushed close to her chest, "I want to take you ... to see my special friend ... Seagrieve."

"Not this again." Weiss walked up to her, her shoes clacking against the stone walkway. "You've been on about this friend of yours since we started this trip. I'm here to become a Huntress, not to socialize. If you're not going to give me orders for training, then I send me to the Lodge."

Ruby knitted her brows, "Weiss..."

"This trip is so typical of you!" the Ice Queen yelled, turning her back and pacing away. "A waste of my time!"

Ruby planted her foot down, "We're going to see my friend! You said it yourself, I'm the leader."

Weiss sighed, placing her face in her palm, "You've got to be kidding me?" she turned back, trying to compose herself. "Okay, so where is this person? I hope they're worth it."

Ruby walked to her, grabbing her hand in elation, a wide grin over her cheeks, "They live close by! I know they'll be happy to see you!" falling rose petals began to enclose them, Weiss recognizing her Rose Semblance. "If we go by the wind, then we'll be there in no time!"

"Oh, no," Weiss' feet lifted from the ground, along with Ruby's, "I'm getting sick of these rose rides. I know it doesn't affect you, but when your whole body turns petals, it feels wrong."

A large rose grew from under the stone walkway, its petals opening widely, closing down on them. "it's okay, Weiss! It won't take us long to get to them." The rose snatched them in its grasp, the flower falling from its stem and soaring high into the air, its petals wilting off and carrying them to the north side of Patch Island. They followed the direction of the wind, until they reached the end of the Dark Forest at the edge of the Grand Seaside Cliffs. The rose petals landed at the end of the forest, Weiss and Ruby emerging from within as the flowers fell to the grass, decaying into the Dust.

Weiss' eyes were closed, but she opened them when she felt her feet planted onto the ground. She looked around, met with the sight of high cliffs over the ocean, violent waves below them into land. The stars seemed more visible, the bats flying above and chirping as they searched for food.

"Yuck. It's humid out here. My hair is going to make me pay for this." she stepped away from Ruby, who looked down at the ground. "What's with the shyness, anyway?" she patted dead rose petals from her dress. "Is this where she is? I don't have all night, y'know."

Suddenly, Ruby inhaled a breath of air, her face filled with excitement, "She's right here!" she spread her arms open and above her head, spinning around and bringing attention to the landscape.

Weiss sighed, "Oh yes, now I remember. You've got to stop naming places after people, it gets confusing!"

She felt guilty all of sudden, remembering the words that Yang told her at Beacon only weeks ago.

...

"She was supposed to be a Shaman in our tribe, Weiss. It's what she does. She can see spirits with her Silver Eyes. We can't tell, but she can see the dead haunting Remnant at every corner. Its a part of her destiny: to become the Grimm Reaper. She may not be a fighter like me, but my sister has strong instincts. Trust in her, Weiss. I mean it when I say she's wiser than I could ever be. She might make you smile a little more, too. I know she always does that for me."

...

Weiss changed her tone, "I'm sorry, okay. Just, show me what you wanted me to see." she crossed her arms.

Ruby ran for the cliff side, heading for a mysterious stone resting on the ground near the edge. She stopped for a moment as Weiss slowly walked to her, somewhat eager to see what Ruby had in store for her. Then, she was shocked. Ruby held her palm out toward the stone, a big smile on her face.

"This is my mom!" Ruby looked down, a blush over cheeks. "She's shy, but not as shy as I am!"

Weiss could not summon words, her jaw falling open and her brows furrowing, "...Ruby..."

"She can't say much, anymore. But I know that if she could, she'd say something nice about you!"

Weiss pinched her coat collar with her palm, her heart stopping as she read the words on the gravestone.

'Thus Kindly, I Scatter.'

Weiss felt a knot in her throat, "Seagrieve ... Sea Grave ... That's what you meant."

"I can't wait to meet your mom too, someday." Ruby walked behind the Gravestone, picking up an indiscernible soft object, then carrying it over to Weiss. "Here!" she held the object out to her, and Weiss looked down at it, observing it closer to find a stuffed rabbit toy, its eyeballs crafted from Crescent Trees and its fur from Mole Pelt. "His name is Spunky. Mom gave him to me a long time ago. She said I should give it to someone I care about a lot. I want you to have it." Weiss looked her in the eyes, Ruby still smiling with excitement. "I want to share him with my best friend ever!"

Weiss looked down at the rabbit toy again, gently grabbing it from under the arms, feeling its old and worn texture, the dead grass trapped in mattes of fur. "He's covered in dirt."

Ruby frowned, "You don't like him?"

Tears fell from the Ice Queen's eyes, and an uncontrollable stream of emotion poured out from her, feelings that were trapped inside for many years. For the first time in her life, she felt a connection to someone, so strong that it even broke the boundaries of blood and family. She stayed quiet, struggling to keep her composure. Her bitterness disappeared in a single moment, a spark of something so special to her that the Gods themselves could never fathom it.

"...he's perfect..." she looked up at Ruby, wiping her tears away and sniffling. "When we get back to Beacon, I'll give him a bath."

Ruby joined, "He needs his hair brushed. We gotta keep him away from Zwei."

Weiss nodded, "I have conditioner fit for the Queen of Vacuo in my locker. We'll make him look beautiful again."

Ruby jumped forward, hugging Weiss tightly, rubbing her cheek against hers, "I knew you'd like him. He'll show you how to be less grumpy all of the time!"

Weiss winced, a hint of rage swelling up in her at the insult. But, it subsided instantly as she took deep a breath. She pushed Ruby away, smiling back at her for a moment, then walking toward her mother's gravestone with Spunky in her arms. Droplets of water glittered against the shattered moon from waves splashing against the cliff side. She sat down near the grave, and looked back at Ruby, patting the grass in front of her, beckoning her to sit down.

Ruby dashed over to her, planting her rear firmly in the dewy grass blades, placing her hands between her crossed legs.

That night, Ruby told stories of her mother. Together, they laughed, cried, cheered, and sometimes held hands, paying homage to a woman who embodied only a tiny Semblance of the Legend of the World of Remnant.

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Weiss. Someone does love you very much.


End file.
